Tag: easy

Chocolate Pot de crème. French dessert? French name? This sounds fancy! Don’t you feel that it will impress a crowd? If anything, it will please a crowd and that’s actually the most important. I truly think you can go wrong with chocolate, any season, any time of the day, any gender, any age, it’s a magic word!

Not only it’s the decadent dessert you’ll want to do again soon as you bring the first spoon to your mouth but also because it’s so simple you’ll want to make a ‘pot de crème’ to your loved ones and use your sexy French accent.

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Hello nice weather and positive temperatures! Everybody seems so merry and smiley lately and it might be thanks to Mother Nature. It’s not summer yet but after so many -25C or -30C in Toronto, let me tell you that +2 is worth jumping all over!

Gorgeous blue sky, snow melting, does it put you in a spring/summer mood? Of course it does! I love it and now I can say Bye to soups and Hello colorful salads!

Last year, I tried kale and I really fell for it! Since it’s a chewy salad, I chop it off really small. I use to pound it with the meat tenderizer but I skip that task and it’s just fine. I add some nuts for crunchy-crunchy, some cranberries for some sweet taste.

Aaaaand… Wait for it (**drum roll**), I make that super simple, quick and easy goat cheese dressing. Kale dressed in white and creamy love. I mean, you have to try it to believe it! So simple and yet so crazy amazingly good!

True story: (Don’t tell El Cubano I told you) He likes his green salad dry, so without dressing. Not his thing. Well, as he wishes. The other day, he said he was ready to try some kale (you know he’s not big on veggies and all… we talked about that). And TA-DA! He loves this recipe with the dressing! It’s that good.

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French Madeleines? Say no more. It’s French so it’s good, right? Well, I’m might be biased. But I made it so it’s good! How about that? And I’m French! Hehe, and quite modest, I may add.

Although I have been living in Canada for 8 years, I still ask my parents to bring me several French products. The very first years, the list was long and their suitcases heavy, it was anything from food to my favorite product to remove my make up or a deodorant. Now, the list is way shorter and revolves mostly around food.

Don’t you love having something that comes from home? I know that there are things I can find here, but it’s just not the same. When you are an expat, products from your home country are always ”better”, just because.

As you might have understood, madeleines were a good that used to be personally imported. Special request for my breakfast. In France, it’s also sold in a ”finger” shape, oh-my-god, the perfect shape for dunking! That’s a little pleasure of life that warms up my heart and makes me feel like I am having a coffee in my Dad’s house with him and my not-so-little-anymore brother. Yeah, because he is like taller than me and quite stronger too. Still has been somehow, even though he is 13 years younger than me!

About those madeleines… Where shall I start from? The perfect buttery taste that warms up your mouth? Or the simplicity of the recipe? Really, have some butter out of the fridge for an hour or so, so it’s easy to work with.

I got this recipe from my mom, she did it at school (she works in a school) and I have to give the credit to Bénédicte for the recipe that I have adapted. I reduced the butter and the sugar a little. Also, I choose to flavor it with some vanilla extract.

Easy and quick? Yes m’dame! Just a bowl and elbow grease, although you can use your electric hand mixer but don’t be lazy, it’s fast enough that you won’t need it. Make sure your oven is preheated while your prepare the madeleines mix and there you have it. Perfect French Madeleines!

See, Little Princess had enough of my talking to convince you there are super tasty, she just grabbed it while I was taking a picture. She is a 2-year-old-opportunist like that! 🙂

What is your little weakness that reminds you of home? Even if home is around the corner.

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Are do you deal with unexpected events in your life? We are in our little routine and then we get thrown a curved ball. It’s not always easy to catch it. I lost my job. Wow, that was not planned. Not at all. One kid in day care, a mortgage and an emergency root canal.

Thankfully, within 10 days, I found something else where I’m happier. Let’s see what the future holds. That was probably a blessing in disguise. I hope.

After this happened, I just stopped blogging. Why? I lost my routine, my comfort, I did not know what to do about it. Is my time well spend blogging? Actually, it is. The kitchen is my creative space, I try, I fail and I succeed.

You never know how you will react and act in front a particular situation. We always think that it happens to your neighbour but… don’t forget, you are somebody’s neighbour.

I bounced back, it’s a bump in the road and I did got a few lessons out of it… I’ll share them with you some day. I learnt, I grew and got a few wake up calls.

On another note, those beautiful patties where not really meant to be either. Unplanned but oh so good. Unplanned is the best sometimes in the kitchen! A few leftover: chicken, some rice and sad carrots. Bingo!

Of course, you add some cheese, cheese is love. Ah ah, I sound like a commercial. Also, I had some fresh parsley and I was really happy about a fresh herb added to it. The sweet carrots seduced the kids and El Cubano.

I breaded the patties for some crunch and inside stayed moist and soft. By the way, I baked them. So much more healthier. No regret, it was perfect. It was kids and hubby approved.

The batch will be big enough for some lunch leftover. Does it get any better than that?

So sorry, I abandonned the blog for so long… I missed it and above all I missed you. I guess the longer I was away, the harder it was to get back to it. Anyway, I am back, although I was never gone. But I’m still trying to find a balance. Not easy, it’s new.

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I know, I know, I have been MIA for a few days now, I do apologize. I missed you guys, and I meant to blog every day, like EVERY SINGLE DAY and life happens. Kids are sick, work is crazy, tweeting evening while watching Pressure Cooker, falling asleep on Lightroom, falling asleep at 9.30pm on a Friday night. I am such a party animal :)!

What do you want to hear about first? My simple and yummy gluten-free mini pizza or my crazy fun experience on the show Pressure Cooker?

Photograph provided by W Network

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw those pictures (and if you don’t, follow me, it’ll be fun!) and if you follow me on Twitter you might have seen my tweets from last Tuesday when it aired.

What is the show about? Pressure Cooker is a cooking competition for home cooks. Grab 5 ingredients in your fridge and make a meal for your family. It sounds easy, challenging and fun and it is! Well, drop the”easy” part. Gosh, it was super stressful. Whomever came up with the name for the show nailed it!
So there, you grad the ingredients on the conveyor belt and you run to your station to cook away for 30 minutes. Along the way, a celebrity chef coaches you, and for me it was Duff Goldman. His role is to help you to create a dish that will impress the intimidating food critic, Giles Coren.